What has ended recently in your life, or what new thing has just begun?
Hiei and Ali lowered the urn into the hole together. Kurama set an arrangement of flowers around the small, smooth stone marker. Of the small group gathered in the grove, only they had known Sayuri before. The Sayuri who had used her incredible strength to protect her twin sister from the monsters that had hunted them as children. The Sayuri who had refused to play to fate’s harp and left her beloved sister behind so as not to be forced to fight her. The Sayuri who had grown strong enough to rival even the three demon kings before she and her sister vanished after the War came to an abrupt and gruesome end.
The rest of Ali’s friends had only known Sai as an enemy. She didn’t blame them, after the way Sai had hunted her down, but she wished they could have known her before the power corrupted her. It was a shame the Prophecy did not leave any chance for a happy ending where they all lived and grew up together.
Ali watched the human boys throw dirt over the urn, filling the small grave one shovelful at a time. It was too simple a grave for such a legendary warrior, but it was the best they could do. Ali could feel Sai’s spirit within her. She was content with simple. She had never wanted to be a legend. Let her rest in complete peace. Ali smiled despite the tears.
Kurama and Hiei stood to either side of her, the redhead giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze. She reached up and grasped his hand for further comfort. Thanks, she sent to both of them. Kurama nodded.
Don’t mention it, Hiei sent back. It held none of usual snark.
The boys rejoined the group after they finished the burial. “It’s finally over,” Kuwabara said quietly.
“No,” Ali shook her head. “This is just the beginning. Right, Koenma?”
The young prince of the spirit world was solemn for her loss, a surprising break in the façade of one whose family business deals with the dead day after day. “In all likelihood, yes,” he replied. “But then again, all endings are new beginnings. I think we’ll have some time to see where this new beginning takes us.”
“Let them send whatever they’ve got at us. We won’t let them take you or your super awesome new power,” Yusuke proclaimed with his signature finger gun pose. Kuwabara added to the show of strength by flexing his arms.
A giggle escaped Ali’s lips at their displays. That she even could laugh so soon after burying the last of her family was proof she would be okay. Besides, looking around at the small group gathered around her it occurred to her that she still had some family left. Family can be more than blood, after all. “We’ll face whatever comes as we always do, together,” she said. It was a new beginning, and this time, she wasn’t alone.
Notes: Back-to-back posts in my fanfiction universe? Yeah, well, Ali has been demanding attention from me again lately. Plus, this little epilogue to the first story suits the prompt well. Spoiler alert? At the end of the first story, Ali and her twin sister have a fierce battle to determine which of them will “reign” with the sum of their powers, as Prophecy said they would. Of course, because Ali has plot armor is my protagonist, she emerges from the battle victorious, but at the cost of her sister’s soul. Naturally, the joining of the two greatest powers of the wolf demon race is going to stir up some trouble since power draws demons like moths to a flame and there will be some Very Bad Dudes™ after that power now. But first, Ali needs to mourn. And her friends are there to support her as she does. Hiei and Kurama also knew Sayuri, and they also mourn her, in their own ways, but this scene was about Ali and moving forward so I didn’t dive into that too much here.
As for myself, in my personal life, there’s a lot of transitioning happening at the office. Management leaders are being shuffled around, some people are moving on to different projects, new companies, so it’s a time of major change. There’s always a period of growing pains, and this will be no different, since there’s also some drama in some of the hiring. A favorite “in-house” manager (from our office) was snubbed for a promotion over someone from the other office who has a longer tenure. I wish the new person the best of luck, and hope they fit in with everyone at the smaller office. And my friend from the other office is transferring down to my office, so I might actually do more socializing with people from the office by virtue of accepting happy hour invites I know she’ll send my way. Lots of new and exciting things!
Your turn! What new things have started in your life? What have you recently finished? Do you believe that every ending is just a new beginning like Koenma says above? Get writing! Have a great night! See you tomorrow!
(Oh yeah!) PS-If you like these daily prompts and the little stories and anecdotes I put out on a daily basis and have ever thought “man, I wish I could show my support!” you can now support the blog by buying me a coffee over on ko-fi! I put a lot of time into these posts (usually 3-4 hours on top of my full time job during the week) so any extra motivation you want to send my way I would be eternally grateful!
Closet Full of Notebooks 